NFL Notes: Broncos, Cowboys, Rolando McClain & Eagles

Broncos

Von Miller‘s agent, Joby Branion, mentioned during an interview with Pro Football Talk that the Broncos’ unorthodox and unconventional approach to negotiations is strange, but effective. Beyond that, Branion said that GM John Elway is “extremely competitive.”

“He’s just extremely competitive,” Branion said. “I can say that the negotiation approach that he and his team uses is a bit unorthodox and unconventional but you can’t argue with the effectiveness and we don’t know unless we’re in their room what their ultimate goals are. So it’s always after the fact you sort of look and say, ‘Well that didn’t look like that worked out well,’ or ‘Geez, that worked out great.’ Only they really know but, yeah, they’re a little different but, hey, there are a lot of people that use a lot of different approaches to negotiate.”

Branion is convinced that Miller would have sat out the 2016 season had they not been able to get a long-term deal in place.

“Absolutely, no question,” Branion said. “You know, a lot of people think it’s bluster and all that and sometimes it is, in this case no. It wouldn’t have made any sense. I told him, ‘Look, I treat you like you’re my own son,’ and if in fact this were my son I’d have to tell him you can’t afford to play for the franchise tag, not given your overall value. I mean, he’s a guy that deserves to be in the 19, 20, 21 million dollars a year range and his tag number is only 14. So it would make no sense at all for him to play for one year for [$14 million], risk potentially getting hurt and then be in a position where the team would be able to exclusive tag him yet again next year. Which I don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t do because then the number would still be so far below his value whereas if he had unrestricted free agency even, as he likely would have in March, he would have made up the difference.”

Cowboys

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones mentioned during an interview with 105.3 The Fan that the coaching staff lobbied to keep ILB Rolando McClain on their roster, despite previous reports that some wanted to move on from him.

“Everybody lobbied to have McClain on the team. Every coach that’s associated with the team lobbied for that,” Jones said, via the Dallas Morning News. “To be fair to everybody concerned, we didn’t know that he was going to get suspended. But his issues were potentially recognized, maybe not to the extent that he would lose the games that he got in this suspension.

“But make no mistake about it: With all of his warts, he still considered a potential asset for the team by the coaches.”

• David Moore of the Dallas Morning News expects the Cowboys to cut McClain when the team heads to Southern California for training camp next week.
• Moore mentions that a decision regarding McClain will not occur until the team receives a definitive figure as to what his cap charge would be if he’s cut.
• According to Moore, team officials are in the process of determining McClain’s cap charge figures.

Eagles

Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com takes a look at 10 Eagles players who could be on the roster bubble in the coming weeks.

• Shorr-Parks mentions that RB Kenjon Barner could be anywhere from the team’s starting running back to a surprise roster cut.The same goes for OL Stefen Wisniewski, according to Shorr-Parks. Philadelphia could elect to keep a younger offensive lineman if Wisniewski doesn’t stand out in training camp.
• According to Shorr-Parks, second-year CB Eric Rowe could be traded, as he didn’t appear to be in the coach’s plans during OTAs. In fact, Shorr-Parks mentions that seventh-round pick Jalen Mills actually got more time with the starters than Rowe did.
• Other players who could be on the chopping block, according to Shorr-Parks, include: CB Jacorey Shepherd, TE Chris Pantale, DE Marcus Smith, WR T.J. Graham, DL Bryan Braman, DL Beau Allen and K Cody Parkey.